Hey does anyone know of any climbable cliffs in the Mornington peninsula? Theres some that I have checked out at the old quarry at arthurs seat some of which could be ok, most of it is crumbly though. I think its private property with no public access at the moment though.
I know there is a lot of coastal cliffs around the peninsula so there must be something around that people know about?
Cheers

The Pioneer Quarry above Dromana does have the best potential. Now that the proposed landfill tip has been ruled out we can hope that it is turned In to a nature reserve and recreational park. The lake would be great for water activities including scuba and the granite walls at lake level do have some attractive lines and solid rock. Access is strictly banned at the moment and I have been informed that it is occasionally patrolled by security. Having said that I have been down there on a few occasions and explored and climbed on some of the walls. With some cleaning effort and a change of management I'm sure it could become a really valuable and popular venue for us rock starved peninsula dwellers. I am certainly keen to be involved in any such efforts to make it so. Most of the rock higher up on other tiers is crumbly shit. However, above the quarry and amongst the mountain bike trails you might find this http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=19923 . There are more but it takes some exploring. There are a couple of lines along the coast below Mount Martha Esplanade that I have done, often really dodgy topouts, so be careful. There's even an ancient peg on one wall! Round Cape Schanck and towards Flinders you can find the occasional bit of boulderable basalt. Again take care with the friable rock. The best short bouldering is around the fisherman's track at the north end of the Tea Tree Creek beach. Very short but at low tide provides some fun. There is a bigger solid basalt wall at the south end which could provide some sport with a few star stakes driven into the cliff tops and a super low tide. http://27crags.com/crags/tea-tree-creek . Further down the peninsula there are some sections of limestone and a few caves that, again at low tide, can give you something to pull on. A few caves I've found would be world class if only they spent less time wave washed. There are also a few large boulders underneath Cape Schanck on the Fingal Beach side. Go down to Fingal beach and walk all the way around towards the lighthouse checking out everything you see. The secret is explore every inch and don't expect too much. Hope that helps. If nothing more you'll get to know more about the place. Cheers, Karl. Rye.

Thanks for the detailed reply Karl! Ill check out those places and others and ill let you know if i happen to find anything else worthwhile
I do fear that if pioneer quarry is made into a nature reserve, that they will forbid climbing because of the possible liability problems. There is an old open cut mine thing at mt eliza which apparently used to be popular for abseiling, not sure about climbing though, but the council put up signs saying abseiling is banned in the reserve.
Maybe once the pioneer quarry plans start to emerge, a proposal could be written up and given to the councils about rock climbing there? Im not really sure how we could go about having climbing allowed there, but I do know that the councils would need to be convinced pretty well to stop them from outlawing it.
cheers

On 4/03/2014 Skaface wrote:>There is an old open cut mine thing at mt eliza which apparently used to be popular>for abseiling, not sure about climbing though, but the council put up signs>saying abseiling is banned in the reserve.

Moorooduc Quarry - spent a bit of time there prior to the ban. It was okay for a local spot...

Bouldered a bit in a small cave in the left side of the quarry. There was also a nice little wall in the back which has three bolted routes graded around 17 and were great little solos. Otherwise there were some longer easier routes too. There was a hand drawn topo published in Agrus many moons ago!

On 4/03/2014 shortman wrote:>Best bet is to go under the radar and be careful.

I can understand this clandestine approach that is the norm down here at the moment because the general public, land owners/managers and powers that be are ignorant of the attitudes, intentions and motivations that rock climbers have. Particularly, I would hope, the importance that climbers should understand and take responsibility for the consequences of their own actions. However, I can't help but wonder whether this approach maintains the position of the climbing community as an irrelevant minority with no voice of political consequence. I know it sounds like I'm harping on about the old country but I come from somewhere where rock climbing is much more in the public eye and where some climbers back in the day became almost household names. As a result the lobbying power of climbers is not inconsiderable and climbers are even invited to hobnob with prime ministers from time to time. I wonder whether we ought to be publicising what we do to a broader audience and trying to achieve some better understanding and maybe some sympathy. I'm not being argumentative, just making a suggestion. What do you think?

On 5/03/2014 Karl Bromelow wrote:>On 4/03/2014 shortman wrote:>>Best bet is to go under the radar and be careful.>>I can understand this clandestine approach that is the norm down here>at the moment because the general public, land owners/managers and powers>that be are ignorant of the attitudes, intentions and motivations that>rock climbers have. Particularly, I would hope, the importance that climbers>should understand and take responsibility for the consequences of their>own actions. However, I can't help but wonder whether this approach maintains>the position of the climbing community as an irrelevant minority with no>voice of political consequence. I know it sounds like I'm harping on about>the old country but I come from somewhere where rock climbing is much more>in the public eye and where some climbers back in the day became almost>household names. As a result the lobbying power of climbers is not inconsiderable>and climbers are even invited to hobnob with prime ministers from time>to time. I wonder whether we ought to be publicising what we do to a broader>audience and trying to achieve some better understanding and maybe some>sympathy. I'm not being argumentative, just making a suggestion. What do>you think?>

What are you suggesting? Publicising climbing so that we can rub shoulders with the PM?

>>What are you suggesting? Publicising climbing so that we can rub shoulders>with the PM? >>Crap idea, : )

Thanks for the smiley face. Without it I might have gone off on one. Sure PM's and MP's are often tossers that you wouldn't want to share a moment with but wouldn't it be good if they thought we were a community worthy of ingratiating rather than an insignificant group of reckless idiots. There are access issues all over Australia but I feel it is particularly relevant to the sorry souls who find themselves suffering in Melbourne who have a couple of local cliffs that are out of bounds or highly sensitive. Next time the queen or one of her progeny visits I'll have a quick word and we'll bring the colony back in line! ; )